What Coincidence Can Do
by Draco-luvr
Summary: When Ginny happens to run into Harry in the hallways in an embarrassing situation, what will come out of it?
1. Halfdressed in Hogwarts

A/N: This whole story was just for fun so I don't want extreme critiquing. Enjoy the story!

POV notes:

Situation in Harry's POV first, then same scene in Ginny's POV. Hope it doesn't get too confusing, but I don't think it will.

~*~

Harry Potter said the password and slipped into the prefect's bathroom. It wasn't until 20 minutes later, when he stepped out of the bathtub, that he realized that he had mistakenly left his T-shirt in his room. He put on his trousers, toweled off his hair, and checked his watch. _No problem_, he thought. _Everyone's at dinner. I can go straight back to my room without any trouble._ He secured his glasses onto his face, checked his reflection, and stepped out into the corridor.

The cold dryness of the corridor hit Harry's shoulders fiercely. It felt beyond odd to be out in the Hogwarts corridors without a shirt on. He didn't stop to consider the potential embarrassment of running into anyone as he took off toward the Gryffindor common room. He moved expertly through the twists and turns of the castle's hallways. As he preceded a corner, he heard light, swift footsteps behind him. He sucked in his breath, turned the corner, and flattened his body against the wall. He closed his eyes as if it would disguise him more as the footsteps grew louder.

The person Harry was attempting to hide from rounded the corner, mumbling frantically under their breath. Upon noticing Harry, they came to an abrupt halt and shrieked.

*****

Ginny Weasley slid into the seat next to Colin in the Great Hall. He was talking animatedly to Ginny's best friend Elizabeth about, of course, about Harry Potter. She tried to sound casual as she joined into the conversation. She was trying her hardest to forget her feelings for Harry lately, but they were nonetheless still there. She made a few minor comments into the conversation but mostly half-listened as her mind wandered.

She was not aware as her older twin brothers joined her at the Gryffindor table. She mistakenly chose to say something about Harry's seeker skills right as Fred and George arrived.

Before she realized what had happened, the twins started in on her. "You seem to know an awful lot about Harry's Quidditch moves, sis."

"Been watching him _closely_, have you?"

Ginny pointedly ignored them as she ate her supper. Colin gave her a sympathetic look, as he had witnessed this many times before and knew how much it upset Ginny. Fortunately, Harry was nowhere to be seen tonight. Ron and Hermione had just walked through the doors of the Great Hall and Harry had not accompanied them.

Ron took up his seat across from Ginny and Hermione slid into place next to him. Ginny pretended not to notice as they scooted closer together and probably interlaced hands. She couldn't help but want what they had, even if they tried to hide it. She smiled slightly at Hermione as if to communicate that she knew what happened.

Ron, however, did not receive the same look once he opened his mouth. "Obsessing over Harry again, is she?"

Ginny couldn't keep her mouth shut any longer. "Oh, you're one to talk about obsessing. Who spent all summer fuming over Krum and bugging Mum to let Hermione over? 'But _Mum_,'" she began impersonating, "'Hermione can't be safe with Muggle parents. She should stay here where it's safe.'"

Ginny grinned with satisfaction as the focus turned to Ron, whose ears were pink. Hermione smiled at Ginny, seeing her real motive. Ginny stood up from her chair at the table and began to leave the hall when George, noticing her departure, shouted, "Off to find Harry?"

Trying her best to will blood from rushing to her face, she quickened her pace and headed out into the corridor. She barely paid attention as she turned corners to get to the Gryffindor common room. Now that she was away from everyone, she became very angry with her brothers. For all she knew, she may have been able to get over Harry if it wasn't for their insistence that she was taken with him. She began insulting her brothers, especially Fred and George, under her breath.

Ginny was so consumed with her thoughts that she almost didn't see the young man hiding against the wall around the nearest corner.

Almost.

She gave a small yelp of surprise.

***

Harry's eyes snapped open and he identified the owner of that voice. For a split second he thought, _Oh, it's only Ginny. I won't be in trouble._ But only for a second. His next thought was, _Oh no, it's_ Ginny.

He couldn't help but wish he wasn't quite so skinny and frail as all his blood, or so it seemed, rushed into his cheeks. The only good thing he could say of the situation was that he wasn't quite so cold anymore.

Ginny blinked once before saying anything. "Harry? What–" she glanced down at his chest, then, thankfully, back up at his face quickly. He wanted nothing more then for the floor to open up and swallow him. Or at least to have a shirt. "What are you _doing_?"

"I–er–I mean, I–" he stammered, feeling as if the walls were getting closer and closer and the air was getting warmer and warmer. "I was just..."

If it was possible, his face got even hotter when Ginny started laughing. He had never been more humiliated in all of his life. Wondering why he had taken so long to do so, he fled down the hallway to the common room where he could hide for the rest of his life.

***

_Harry._

At first Ginny didn't even think about anything and opened her mouth to ask what was going on. "Harry? What–" That's when she realized...Harry was not wearing a shirt. She stared at his chest for a brief moment. Why on earth was he walking around like this? And _when_ did he get all those muscles? Quickly and forcefully, she turned her face upward and focused on his face. "What are you _doing_?"

She felt blood rushing to her face more and more as he stared back at her. "I–er–I mean, I–" Without warning, a fantasy she hadn't thought about in over a year popped into her brain. She wished it would go away, but she remembered it so well. She had the same dream 3 times in 1 week during the beginning of her second year. Harry was at Quidditch practice, and somehow she would walk in on him in the locker rooms with his shirt off, and each time he would greet her with a kiss. "I was just..." Harry's voice broke into her thoughts and a giggle escaped her mouth from the simple thought of the dream actually occurring. With all the nervousness pent up inside her, she found she couldn't _stop_ giggling.

Ginny saw Harry's eyes widen and fill with embarrassment, something she was quite familiar with, before he turned and ran.

***

A/N: This last part will be switching POVs because it wouldn't be as good if told twice. Let me know if the POV is confusing so that I can fix it.

***

_Oh no,_ Ginny thought, running after Harry. "Harry! No, wait! I wasn't–Harry please stop."

Harry had to stop when he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. He racked his brain for the password but as his mind was racing, he couldn't remember.

"Harry," Ginny began breathlessly. "I wasn't _la–_" She stopped when she realized that the Fat Lady was staring at them. She could only imagine how odd the two of them looked. "House elf," she muttered. She grabbed Harry's hand, ignored the electric feeling that shot through her fingers, and pulled him through the portal.

Harry allowed Ginny to pull him through. He stared at her fingers, which were interlaced with his. When they were inside the common room and Ginny dropped his hand, he looked down at the floor. He just wanted to dart up to his room, but he knew that Ginny was going to say something and he might as well hear it now.

"Harry, listen. I–Harry?" When he looked up, Ginny mustered up the courage to continue. "I wasn't _laughing_ at _you_. You misunderstood me, I'm sorry..."

Harry laughed nervously. "Yeah, well,...m-maybe I should explain," he started, looking down at his hands. He had started wringing them as he spoke. He gave a brief explanation of what had happened in the prefect's bathroom.

As Harry finished telling her why he was walking around shirtless, she gave a nervous laugh that mirrored the one he had given her not 2 minutes ago. She wished she could form a complete sentence or at least a complete thought but she found that she couldn't.

"So, um..." he began, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt but failing miserably, "maybe after–" he gestured up the stairs. "After I, well, finish getting dressed...do you think you'd want to take a walk around the lake with me?" He drew in a sharp breath. Had he just _said_ that? Out _loud_?

Ginny stared incredulously at Harry. She must be dreaming again. Harry never gave her a second look, so why would he ask her to go for a walk? Her head was spinning.

"W-well, I mean, if you don't _want_–"

"I'd love to," she interjected before Harry could come to the wrong conclusion.

~*~

This story was just gonna be a one-shot Harry/Ginny story that left you hanging. But then once I thought of the walk I couldn't think of another way to go. So now there are 2 more installments!! They are complete and I didn't plan to post until I got some reviews but since OotP's release is fast approaching I had to go ahead and post all of them! But you'll find that by the end of the story you may want to review anyway.


	2. The Walk

A/N: Here comes part 2 of 3! Where the first chapter was humorous, this one is serious. This is one of the first times I've written the serious parts into my stories, because almost everything else I have written is fluff. Now let's get walking!

~*~

Part 2 -- The Walk

As Ginny walked outside, she tried not to let it phase her that she was standing next to the guy she'd crushed on since before she knew him. Since she had tried to rid herself of her feelings for him, she had gotten her feelings straight rather then throwing them away. Now she liked Harry but wasn't obsessed with him in the way she used to be. She wished she could say she was in love. But then the concept of love was such a mystery that she did not know how to tell. The only thing she knew was that she thought of him night and day, with an appreciative and protective nature rather than a fixated one. She sighed inwardly. Her life was so confusing.

Harry walked through the giant doors into the crisp autumn air, staring straight ahead. Whenever he had time alone, his mind seemed to wander back to that fateful day of the Triwizard Tournament. He was almost lost to the world when Ginny spoke and brought him back.

"So, the match against Ravenclaw is a week away. Do you think Ron will be ready?"

Harry sighed. "I'm sure he'll do fine. I don't know about me, though. I haven't been..." He trailed off. He shouldn't worry Ginny with his problems. "I've just been really tired, recently."

Ginny got the point anyway. "Not sleeping well? I know how _that_ feels."

Harry turned his head toward her. "You do?"

"Yeah. I used to, well, have nightmares. After my first year."

Harry looked at her for a few seconds before he realized he was staring. _Of course, idiot. Just_ had _to bring that up. Great._ "Oh. Yeah, sorry."

"Don't be, I don't have them anymore. All I had to do is think about something pleasant before I went to sleep for a while and eventually they were gone for good."

"Sounds like a Dementor." Harry saw Ginny shudder at the mention. _Nice one, Potter. Bring up more horrible things._

"Yeah, sort of. Whenever I was near one of those things the next year, I would hear..."

Harry stopped walking. There was something in Ginny's voice that made him do so. He couldn't identify it. "What? What did you hear?"

Ginny gave a nervous laugh. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "Well, I don't know how, but I heard Tom. And you." She looked at the ground. "In the Chamber."

"What did you hear?" Harry asked gently. He didn't want to press her.

Ginny's ears were pounding. She couldn't tell him what she heard. At least, not _everything._ Not that she heard Tom tell Harry that she had obsessed over him. "Just little pieces of what he said to you. Like, 'It's very _boring_, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven-year-old girl,''Ginny simply _loved_ me,' and how he called me stupid little Ginny." She sighed. "But he was right. I was stupid." She gave a small shiver as the breeze cut through her. It was always colder when she thought about Tom.

Harry removed his cloak and draped it around Ginny's shoulders. He slowly began to walk again with his arm still around her shoulders until he was burning with embarrassment and he removed it. "You are not stupid. Don't even say that; you had no idea that simply writing in a diary would have such an effect. No one would have."

Ginny knew he probably only said it to make her feel better, but it meant so much more coming from him. She didn't need the cloak to warm her up anymore, because Harry's words did that much, but she didn't want to give it back either. "Thanks," she said timidly.

"I always heard my parent's death, when I was near a Dementor. But now I think," Harry couldn't believe he was going to admit it out loud, "I think I'd see Cedric's death as well. If only I had gone by myself." The last part he mumbled to himself.

"No." Ginny said in response. "You wouldn't do that. At the time you just thought you were just winning the tournament. And you wouldn't take all the glory for yourself. It's not...you."

Harry shook his head. Now that he'd spoken the problem he had to keep going. "No, I still should have known that something bad would happen. We hadn't had any interactions with Voldemort in two years, it was bound to be coming. I should have _known_. And now another death has occurred because of _me_."

"I used to think that, about death," Ginny started, staring straight ahead in order to concentrate on how she worded what she was about to say. "That every death could have been prevented if someone had done something different. And that makes sense. But you know what I've learned?" Harry shook his head and his unruly black hair shook around his head. He was looking at her with intense green eyes that showed that he was listening intently. God, she loved his eyes. "Death is inevitable. If it's your time to go, then you will die. The only thing other people can influence is the way it happens. That scared me so bad when I thought of it. It's almost like–like we don't have any control over our lives. But it also means that if it's not your time, you won't die."

Harry continued to look at Ginny as she spoke. How did she do it? Influence him so much? When she turned her head to him again, it startled him a bit. Did she want him to speak? How could he respond to _that_? But then she continued on, looking into his eyes.

"You're the prime example. You've escaped death, what? Four, five times now? And you know why. You've still got a purpose in this life." Ginny turned and looked ahead again. She couldn't bear to look any longer at his face. It made her melt to know for sure that he was listening. It was harder to form sentences knowing that he would probably catch it if she said anything stupid or wrong. "Cedric had fulfilled his purpose on earth, if he hadn't died by Voldemort's wand he would have done so some other way. And there's no way you could change it _now_, anyway. What's done is done. Do you see what I mean, Harry?"

As Ginny turned her face to his again, Harry was suddenly overwhelmed with the want to kiss her. It scared him that he felt such a compulsion to lean only a little bit forward and reveal everything he felt at once. She would think he was a fool. She had shown no interest in him since her first year, anyway. It was stupid to assume she fancied _him_ as much as he did her. "Yeah, I think I do."

Ginny forced herself to look away and searched her mind for a subject change. She couldn't believe herself. For a moment she had actually thought Harry would kiss her. He had never communicated anything to her that said 'more than friends', so why had she even considered that he would do such a thing? Finally she came up with a happier topic. "Well, at least not everything about the Triwizard Tournament was bad. What about the Yule Ball?"

Harry laughed. "That wasn't bad? Are you sure?" Ginny gave him a half-smile that made him want to explain his reasons for disliking it. "Don't get me wrong, Parvati's a nice girl and everything, but..." Harry sighed and shook his head. "It doesn't work. I think Ron and I were about 180 degrees in the wrong direction when we went about getting dates for that bloody dance."

Ginny didn't know what to think. She had known, because Hermione had found out and told her, that Harry had asked Cho Chang first and foremost. So it was nice to think that he didn't like that decision. But then he had asked her, too, eventually. It had been an act of desperation and Ron had actually suggested it, but was he saying that he should not have asked her at all? _STOP_, she told herself. _You're terrible with overanalyzing. Whatever he meant by that statement, it wouldn't be this hard to figure out._ She concluded that he simply meant the ball had turned out to be a disappointment and forgot about it, for now. She'd surely analyze the statement more later. She always did. "Yeah, I understand. I went with Neville, and I could handle that he was clumsy and kept stepping on my feet on the dance floor. But like you said, it just doesn't work. Ron definitely went down the wrong path for that dance, though, didn't he?" She felt a smile spreading on her face.

Harry gave a small laugh, "Yeah, I heard him and Hermione after the dance. Hermione really gave him a reality check that night. I'm sure that one pushed him in the right direction. 'Cause hey, six months later, they were going out. At least this time, it will be easy for Ron."

Ginny laughed, trying to keep it from sounding nervous. She had nearly forgotten. There was a Halloween Ball in a little over a month. The official announcement wouldn't be made for a few more days but since Harry and Hermione were prefects, Ginny had found out about it. "I don't know. Ron has been known to mess these kinds of things up before."

Harry was smiling now. Ginny had really been cheering him up since they had started walking. They must have walked around the lake 212 times now, but Harry didn't mind. "True, but I'm sure eventually he'll ask Hermione and she'll say yes. Or 'Duh.'"

"Funny. I don't see Hermione as a 'duh' kind of girl."

"Very funny. But seriously, this time around Ron's got it easy. No thinking up words to say and no worrying if she'll say yes."

"You're wrong there. Knowing my brother, he'll still dwell on all of that. We Weasleys tend to obsess like that." Ginny felt blood rushing to her cheeks. Had she just said that? Out loud?

"Yeah, you're right again. I bet he will worry about it. But he shouldn't have to."

"Neither should you."

Harry blinked twice. Did he hear that right? "What?"

Ginny tried hard to think of a reason for saying that. "Come on, Harry. Almost every girl in Hogwarts is either obsessed with you or would at least go to the dance with you. It's part of being the Boy Who Lived."

Harry sighed. "Well I wish it wasn't. I don't _want_ to go to a dance with some girl that's obsessed with me because I'm _famous_."

Ginny's mouth went dry. He had just described to the 't' how she had acted in her first year.

"I want to go with someone that understands me. That I can..." Harry swallowed hard. "...talk to." He subconsciously quickened his pace after that as if to run away from his last comment.

Ginny's heart ached. She knew that last statement Harry had made wasn't about her. It couldn't be. But she wanted so much for it to be. Enough experience with overanalyzing statements had taught her never to assume such an extreme thought. Harry must have simply been thinking of someone specific, and later he would realize he'd said it in front of Ginny and regret it.

Harry's heart pounded so hard he thought he could hear it. He wasn't sure what to make of the silence. He figured he'd prefer it to Ginny being utterly repulsed by his subtle and yet not-so-subtle statement. As the breeze blew once again Harry was brought out of his thoughts and realized just how dark it was. He looked up to see that the were facing the castle. "Why don't we go back inside? It's getting dark out here."

Ginny smiled at him. "Alright." She had to admit that it was getting too dark to see, but she still wanted to stay out and talk with him some more. Still, there was no way she would say that to him. She hated to be obvious and _that_ would be crystal clear.

Harry was still mildly embarrassed from what he had said before but for now he was mostly content with walking back to the common room with Ginny by his side. He had at last, thanks to today's walk, admitted to _himself_ that he had feelings for her. Now he had to wonder how to go about admitting them to _her_. He couldn't see himself doing so anytime soon. He had only taken a small step in that direction tonight and it hadn't seemed to have an effect. Not a good one, anyway.

As Ginny walked with Harry back to the Gryffindor common room, she wondered what she should do with his cloak. Surely she couldn't _keep_ it. What if he didn't want her too? Then he'd have to ask for it and she would feel extremely stupid. No, she'd have to give it back.

Once they were in the common room, Harry felt quite awkward. He didn't want to say goodnight yet, but then he didn't know that he could last any longer with her around without spilling out everything he was feeling. Upon searching the room with his eyes, he saw Ron and Hermione. Luckily, Ron was not facing them, and he saw Hermione look up and quickly back down again so Ron would not notice. Harry knew that even though nothing had happened on their walk, Ron would suspect it did. And Harry would prefer to live.

Ginny took a deep breath. She had to go upstairs now before her brother tried to yell at her for hanging around Harry. "Well, I've got some work to finish up for class tomorrow. Oh," she shrugged the cloak off her shoulders and tried to sound nonchalant. "here's your cloak back." She held it out to him and he shook his head.

"No, you keep it."

She blinked a few times quickly. "Keep it? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I've got plenty. I don't want you to be cold." _Oh yeah, nice excuse. She's got her own cloaks in her room. Idiot._

Ginny looked down at the cloak in her arms with some disbelief. "Well, thanks, then. I'll just go–"

"Ginny, wait."

She turned at the bottom of the stairs and raised her eyebrows at him.

Harry felt nerves take over and chickened out. "It was, er, nice talking to you." Luckily, she still smiled at him.

"Yeah, we should do it more often."

Harry sighed as she walked upstairs, ran his hand through his hair, and went over to join Ron and Hermione.

Once Ginny got up to her room, she rubbed her hands over the forest green fabric of the cloak once before putting it into her trunk. She had lied about the homework. She only knew that she couldn't stay with him now without going too far. She had come too close to doing so already. She couldn't tell him how she felt. Not yet. She changed into her pajamas and went to bed, knowing she would not have any frightening dreams tonight.

~*~

A/N: Guess it got more fluffy than serious at the end. Oops. Well, the last chapter will be fluff. And the way I end it, I _could _do a 4th chapter. It'll be up to you all! Next chapter is up! Go!!!


	3. Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor

A/N: This is the potential end of the story but if you want an even fluffier ending then you're more than welcome to review and say so!!

For some reason I did the first several paragraphs from Ginny's perspective, probably to conceal Harry's thoughts about that subject until later. But once the game starts I will use both POVs and, once again, I hope it isn't confusing. 

~*~

Part 3 -- The Quidditch Game

Only seven days had passed since Ginny had gone on her walk with Harry around the lake. Ginny didn't want to obsess over it, and yet nearly everything she said or did reminded her of something he or she had said last weekend.

On Wednesday, Dumbledore had officially announced the Halloween Ball, causing a rift of excitement and anticipation from the girls. At least, the girls in Ginny's class. As soon as Dumbledore had announced it, Ginny noticed Ron's nervous face. She tried to share a meaningful look with Harry about this, but he was staring down at his dinner as if it held the meaning of life. She would probably go with Colin or Neville, nice guys that didn't have anyone else to go with. Poor Neville crushed Ginny's feet at the Yule Ball last year, but at least he had apologized and been nice throughout the evening.

Today was the first Quidditch game of the year. Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor. Ginny was nervous for Ron as it was his first Quidditch game, but she was also uncontrollably nervous for Harry. Nothing bad had happened to him so far this year, and everyday that went by made Ginny wonder more and more if something would suddenly come out of nowhere and attack him. Typically that did happen. Every year so far it had. Ginny gulped as she remembered that she was a major part of it in his second year. But no, he had long forgiven her for that much.

Ginny observed Harry as he flew around the Quidditch pitch as a warm up. He seemed so relaxed when he was flying. Sure, he had been more relaxed then anyone had seen him last weekend during and after their walk, and that fact made Ginny smile, but he looked even more at ease now, on his Firebolt.

Harry flew in circles through the pitch and focused his thoughts on the game that was about to take place. For some reason his mind was having trouble centering in on one topic lately, unless it was the Halloween Ball. Every day that went by since the announcement made Harry worry more. This year he didn't _have _to have a date, and yet he was worrying twice as much about it. But he couldn't think about that now, there was a Quidditch game in mere minutes.

As Madame Hooch came out onto the pitch to start the game, Ginny saw Harry staring at the Ravenclaw Seeker, Cho Chang, and sighed. Ginny liked to think that she could spot crushes where they existed, and Harry's had been quite obvious last year. Ginny just hoped that Cho would not distract Harry so much during the game that he would miss the Snitch.

Harry flew to the center of the pitch and glanced up to see Cho across from him with distress written into her expression. She had looked like that ever since the end of last year. Once again his mind flashed to the dance. Cho had been his first choice last year and he had wished that she wasn't going with Cedric. This year he wished she _could_ go with Cedric and as he looked at her he found that he felt no desire to ask her to the Halloween Ball. He started to shift his gaze to the one he wanted to ask but was distracted when Madame Hooch blew the whistle to get the teams' attention.

The balls were released and the game was underway. Ginny noticed that Cho was barely looking for the Snitch but instead followed Harry wherever he moved. Ron was doing well as Keeper and blocked both shots made by Ravenclaw in the beginning. Ginny saw a sparkle and turned toward it to find the Snitch very close and a bit below her location in the stand. She stared at it momentarily then looked up at Harry. He got a determined look and dove straight down, yet he was on the other side of the pitch. _He's feinting_, Ginny realized.

Harry could tell from the noise behind him that Cho had followed his lead. He pulled out of the feint before he was too close to the ground. Cho glowered at him. He gave her an innocent smile and flew back up where he could observe the pitch better. He noticed a reflection to his left but it was merely the sun reflecting off of Ginny's bright red hair. She was looking at him, and he knew he should be focused, but found that he couldn't. She was giving him an odd look that Harry could not interpret. Her eyes were wide and she kept glancing down. She pointed her gaze sharply down and this time Harry followed it to see...the Snitch? He dove for it without a second glance and put all his energy into the dive. Cho had at first thought he was bluffing and was delayed in diving.

Ginny watched, her face still burning from making eye contact with Harry, as he inched closer and closer to the Snitch. Cho had waited far too long to catch him now. The only way Harry would lose this game is if a distraction came up and the Snitch flew off. No, Harry was too close. The Snitch was so close to her spot that she could see just how close he was to winning the game. She felt the triumph immediately as Harry's fingers wrapped around the golden ball and its wings folded back. She faintly heard Lee Jordan announcing the Gryffindor win but disregarded it. The second the Snitch was in his hand, Harry had looked back at her. She told herself that she was just the first thing he had seen, or perhaps it was his way of thanking her for seeing the Snitch. She wanted desperately to believe that brightness in his eyes was for her, but she knew better. It was for Quidditch, and winning the first match.

Harry landed in the middle of the pitch and held the Snitch above his head in excitement. Cho congratulated him from the air and flew off. The Gryffindor team landed around him, and as the stands gradually emptied, Harry's ears were filled with more and more noise as they congratulated him and the rest of the team. He heard Angelina say something about the quick Snitch catch but hardly paid attention. He searched the crowd, seeing Ron, Fred, and George's red hair. _Where was she?_

Ginny remained in the stands where she could observe Harry better. She could congratulate him later, but for now she was content to watch his enjoyment of winning the game. One of the team's chasers, Angelina Johnson, punched Harry lightly on the shoulder while congratulating him, but Harry seemed to ignore her. Ginny saw Harry nod absent-mindedly as he searched the small group of Gryffindors. He couldn't be...Ginny didn't have time to finish her thought because suddenly Harry's head had snapped up and he had met her gaze.

_Ginny_. He had spotted her. Still up in the stands. He wanted earnestly to push the people around him away so that he could go talk to her. He didn't want to delay his predicament any longer. He had to ask her to the dance. But his present situation was not one that he could simply walk away from without questioning or following by some Gryffindors. He was struck with an idea. "Well I may have caught the Snitch, but that wouldn't have made a difference if our new Keeper hadn't done so well!" His tactic had worked as the small crowd diverted their attention to Ron. Harry laughed to himself as he slipped out from the middle of the group and made his way toward the stand. Ron had only blocked a few shots in the short game and yet he was getting so much praise for it. Harry felt that Ron deserved it as he _was_ a great Keeper and Harry didn't mind because he preferred not to be the center of attention.

Shock. That's what Ginny felt as Harry clearly shifted the attention off of himself and deserted his fans to talk to _her_. _He just wants to thank you, _she told herself. _You showed him the Snitch, he's just going to show his gratitude and walk back down._ Harry must have walked faster than she comprehended because when she looked back down he was off the pitch.

"I owe you one," Harry said, making Ginny jump a bit and turn quickly. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to, er, thank you. I might have missed the Snitch if you hadn't showed it to me."

_You see? Just wanted to thank you. That's all. Time to stop dreaming_. "Oh, no need to thank me for that. It just happened to fly right in front of me. Anyone would have seen it." Harry had walked up to her and now stood only a couple of feet away.

"But they didn't." He spoke softly, hoping she would look into his eyes. "That's why I'm thanking _you_." Ginny did look into his eyes, and smiled at him. He fought the urge to simply ask her to the dance. He had to have some sort of sign. After a few awkward seconds he gave a silent sigh and started to leave.

Ginny knew Harry had something to say. She didn't understand why he didn't say it. Worry etched across his face and she realized he was going. She didn't want him to. "So have you been thinking about what we said last weekend?" she said in a rush to prevent his absence.

Harry stopped abruptly as she spoke and smiled at her words. "Every day." He felt he should have smacked himself for saying that. She could surely see right through him now. Sure, it was the truth that their conversation had been on his mind for the past week, but he didn't want _her_ to know that much.

Ginny reflected Harry's smile. Harry's gaze suddenly swept over her and he took a step closer. She felt confused and awkward. What was he doing? His right hand moved up toward her left arm and she stared in even more confusion.

Harry felt his face warm up as he pulled the sleeve of the cloak. With a smile, he said, "You're wearing my cloak."

Ginny's eyes widened in realization. She _was_ wearing his cloak. She hadn't known that she was wearing it; she must have picked it out at random that morning. The blood was rushing to her cheeks but she tried to ignore it. "That's funny, I didn't even notice..."

Harry's heart dropped. _She didn't notice. That mean's it doesn't make a difference. And you just made a fool of yourself, Potter. Again._

"I did wonder why it smelled so much better than usual, though," she added with a nervous laugh.

Both of them looked down in embarrassment.

Harry gathered every bit of courage in him to finally ask that nagging question. "So, er, I was wondering..."

_Wondering?_ _About what? My dreams? Or maybe even...No. _She willed herself to pay attention to what he was _saying_ and stop guessing at what he _could _say. She bit her lip and nodded her head to signal him to go on.

"Well, just..." Harry sighed. He could do this. "Do you have a date for the ball?" A smile broke out on Ginny's face and Harry's heart lifted in anticipation.

"Oh, no, actually. I don't." Ginny tried to maintain her composure, but she was sure that she wasn't assuming too much to know what was coming next.

"Well then, do you maybe...wanna go with me?" Harry blurted before he lost his nerve. He braced himself for her response. But instead of her laughing or being disgusted, her smile got wider.

"With you?" Ginny repeated. She had to keep herself from screaming 'Of course!' and jumping up and down. "Well, uh, yes. I'd love to."

Harry smiled and offered his hand to her, since that was the only rational thing he could think to do, and they walked down to the now deserted pitch in comfortable silence.

~*~

A/N: I know what you're probably thinking. No kiss? But you said this was fluff! And I did say that. But so far my stories tend to rush too much [like Erised Senoimreh] and I knew that if I just tried to work that in so soon, it would seem far too fast. So because of that I will leave it here. I wasn't planning to take this past 3 chapters but that is such a mean place to stop! Do you want me to continue? Well it appears that I won't ever know if you don't click that button down there! Since I posted all 3 chapters together I want at least 10 reviews to know that you really _do_ like my story and if I get more than that I will go even faster to write the last installment. I will be away from internet access for the next week [ =( ] but I plan to finish this before OotP comes out so you better review in the next week or I will leave the story as is! It's all up to you to review!


End file.
